Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Rating: 4

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Ship of Destiny: Strong conclusion to an exciting trilogy

Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb

With so much being churned out in the way of epic fantasy, it’s always a pleasure to come across something original and unique. I felt that way about Robin Hobb’s Farseer books and wondered if she’d be able to maintain such high standards in Liveship Traders.
While I don’t believe she quite got there (it is after all a pretty high bar she set herself), this series certainly stands on its own as quality fantasy, and Ship of Destiny is a fitting conclusion (though one wonders if that word has been banned from the genre).

August 29th, 2007. Bill Capossere, Rob Rhodes and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Robin Hobb | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Tigana: Fascinating story filled with passion

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay

Tigana is a masterpiece.

It is difficult to summarize the plot, for so much of the story unfolds organically — indeed, as a near-perfect tainflower — that one fears to spoil the pleasure of becoming swept up in the narrative. That said, the tale concerns the Palm, a mythic penninsula reminiscent of Italy, a land divided between two wizard-conquerors. One conqueror has utterly blighted the province of Lower Corte with an undreamt-of dark magic. (Take a fresh look at the map of the Palm mid-way through,

Feast of Souls: Impeccably plotted

Feast of Souls by C.S. Friedman

There is only one way to do magic, and that is to expend life force to power it. Witches spend their own life force, and die young. Magisters have discovered how to spend the life force of another, and are nearly immortal, burning through consort after consort, while keeping the source of their magic a tightly guarded secret. No woman has ever become a Magister because they are unwilling to sacrifice others. No woman until Kamala, steeled by a life of child prostitution, secretly becomes a Magister.

August 24th, 2007. Ruth Arnell and John Hulet´s rating: 3.5, 4 | C.S. Friedman | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods: Continues in the series’ strong fashion

Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins

The third book in the Gregor series picks up shortly after the last one ends and quickly tosses the reader into familiar territory. Once again, Gregor takes up a task underground in order to save a family member. In the first book it was his father, in book two his sister Boots, and now it’s his mother, who in accompanying him down to the underground contracted a seemingly fatal disease that threatens to wipe out the warmbloods.

As foretold by a prophecy (another familiar element from the other books),

The Shadow of Albion: Refreshing as the spring rain

The Shadows of Albion by Andre Norton & Rosemary Edghill

I’ve heard others gripe that this book is basically fluff. Well, yes, it’s light, but that’s part of what I liked about it. I’ve read a lot of serious (and sometimes depressing) books lately, and this one was a much-needed cool breeze of just plain fun.

The Marchioness of Roxbury, a vain and vapid woman, is on her deathbed, having failed to fulfill a promise made to the Fair Folk. She lives in an alternate England where magic exists, though it’s subtle.

August 16th, 2007. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Andre Norton, Rosemary Edghill | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Woman Who Loved Reindeer: A must-read

The Woman Who Loved Reindeer by Meredith Ann Pierce

Set in a prehistoric fantasy setting of ice and snow, The Woman Who Loved Reindeer refers to its two main characters: the young Caribou and the child she names Reindeer. As someone who experiences prophetic dreams, Caribou lives alone until her sister-in-law brings to her a golden-haired child. Claiming that it is not her husband Visjna’s child (Caribou’s brother), Branja begs her to take in the child before Visjna returns from the season-long hunt and so that the child’s true father cannot come to claim him.

Wit’ch Storm: Immensely enjoyed

Wit’ch Storm by James Clemens

As much as I enjoyed Wit’ch Fire, the first part of James Clemens‘ The Banned and the Banished, it has to be said that this is better.

Wit’ch Storm picks up the tale of Elena Morinstal shortly after where the last book left off. Once again, the prologue intimates that the reader is party to a text that has been banned for being dangerous and is clearly not true — a hook I have found effective every time Clemens has used it.

August 14th, 2007. Guest´s rating: 4 | James Clemens | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Mister Monday: Danger, intrigue, invention, surprises

Mister Monday by Garth Nix

Be a Player, Not a Pawn.

Garth Nix’s Mister Monday begins a brand new children’s fantasy epic: The Keys to the Kingdom. This Australian author is fast-becoming one of the biggest names in fantasy with his reinvention of the genre and his intricate, fascinating plots. Unlike other such authors, who place their heroes in a medieval realm of magical swords, horse-back riding and dragons, Nix follows the example of writers such as Philip Pullman,

The River at Green Knowe: A different direction

The River at Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston

As the third book in Lucy Boston’s Green Knowe series, readers who are moving through the books chronologically may be a bit surprised at the extreme change of formula in the story that dictated the two previous books. There is no Tolly or Grandmother Oldknow and their discoveries of past inhabitants of the house, but rather two elderly women who rent the house and send away for a niece and two children from “the Society for the Promotion of Summer Holidays for Displaced Children.”

Sorcery and Cecelia (The Enchanted Chocolate Pot)

Sorcery and Cecelia (The Enchanted Chocolate Pot) by Patricia C. Wrede

To best understand Sorcery and Cecelia one has to first flick to the back of the book in order to read the authors’ afterword in which they explain the format and history of their story. After hearing of a game called “The Letter Game,” Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer decided to have a go — each took on the persona of two young women in a more magically flavoured 1800’s, and wrote to each other concerning their activities.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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